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cysticercosis

File:Neurocysticercosis.gif · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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cysticercosis

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Also known as Pork tapeworm infection, intestinal taenia solium infection, neurocysticercosis, tenia solium infectious disease, Tapeworm infection: intestinal taenia solum, Tapeworm infection: pork

Cysticercosis is a tissue infection caused by the young form of the pork tapeworm. People may have few or no symptoms for years. In some cases, particularly in Asia, solid lumps of between one and two centimeters may develop under the skin. After months or years, these lumps can become painful and swollen and then resolve. A specific form called neurocysticercosis, which affects the brain, can cause neurological symptoms. In developing countries, this is one of the most common causes of seizures.

AI overview

Cysticercosis is an infection caused by the larval form of the pork tapeworm that can develop cysts in various tissues of the body, often without noticeable symptoms for years. When it affects the brain (neurocysticercosis), it can cause serious neurological problems like seizures, making it a major public health concern in developing countries where it's a leading cause of seizures.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition (new).name
Cysticercosis
Medical condition (new).image
Neurocysticercosis.gif
Medical condition (new).caption
Magnetic resonance image (MRI) in a person with neurocysticercosis showing many cysts within the brain
Medical condition (new).field
Infectious disease
Medical condition (new).symptoms
1–2 cm lumps under the skin
Medical condition (new).complications
Neurocysticercosis
Medical condition (new).duration
Long term
Medical condition (new).causes
Eating tapeworm eggs (fecal oral transmission)
Medical condition (new).diagnosis
aspiration of a cyst
Medical condition (new).prevention
Improved sanitation, treating those with taeniasis, cooking pork well
Medical condition (new).treatment
None, medications
Medical condition (new).medication
Praziquantel, albendazole, corticosteroids, anti seizure medications
Medical condition (new).frequency
1.9 million
Medical condition (new).deaths
400

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

8,171 papers

via PubMed

~20 min read

Encyclopedic overview

28 sections
Contents
  • Signs and symptoms
  • Muscles
  • Nervous system
  • Eyes
  • Skin
  • Cause
  • Diagnosis
  • Serological
  • Neurocysticercosis
  • Imaging
  • CSF
  • Prevention
  • Pigs
  • Limitations
  • Vaccines
  • S3PVAC vaccine
  • Other
  • Management
  • Neurocysticercosis
  • Eyes
  • Epidemiology
  • Regions
  • Infection estimates
  • Deaths
  • History
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Cysticercosis is a tissue infection caused by the young form of the pork tapeworm. People may have few or no symptoms for years. In some cases, particularly in Asia, solid lumps of between one and two centimeters may develop under the skin. After months or years, these lumps can become painful and swollen and then resolve. A specific form called neurocysticercosis, which affects the brain, can cause neurological symptoms. In developing countries, this is one of the most common causes of seizures.

Cysticercosis is usually acquired by eating food or drinking water contaminated by tapeworms' eggs from human feces. Among foods, egg-contaminated vegetables are a major source. The tapeworm eggs are present in the feces of a person infected with the adult worms, a condition known as taeniasis. Taeniasis, in the strict sense, is a different disease and is due to eating cysts in poorly cooked pork. People who live with someone with pork tapeworm have a greater risk of getting cysticercosis. The diagnosis can be made by aspiration of a cyst. Taking pictures of the brain with computer tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is most useful for the diagnosis of disease in the brain. An increased number of a type of white blood cell, called eosinophils, in the cerebral spinal fluid and blood is also an indicator.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cysticercosis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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